Mention psychedelia and chances are you're transported to a certain patchouli-scented period in the late 1960s, a hazy period of high times and boundary-breaking musical creativity.  The spirit of psychedelia didn't die with the advent of glam, hard rock or disco, however, though it may have been submerged for a time.  In 1981, the 13-track album A Splash of Colour chronicled Great Britain's "New Psychedelia" with '60s-influenced cuts from The Mood Six, Miles Over Matter, The High Tide, The Marble Staircase and others.  Cherry Red's RPM label has recently reworked and reconfigured that landmark LP into a 3-CD box set appropriately entitled Another Splash of Colour: New Psychedelia in Britain 1980-1985.

Most of the tracks from the original collection are here, but the purview has been greatly expanded for this new set.  Born in clubs such as The Groovy Cellar and The Clinic, the New Psychedelia movement espoused beliefs of peace and love that few were willing to express in 1981 London, and took a page from both fashion and the underground music scene of the mid- to late-1960s.  DJ Clive Jackson, a.k.a. The Doctor, presided over The Clinic (naturally!) with a full-blown happening of flowers and candles.  Color and flamboyance were proudly displayed in both music and dress.  Early proponents of this new/old style represented on Another Splash of Colour include The Mood Six and Miles Over Matter; soon various other influences were being incorporated into the New Psychedelia.  The Earwigs brought a punk sensibility, while The Silence created their own riff on New Wave.  The Marble Staircase and The Barracudas both bore the strains of the "mod" sound.  The Times leaned towards pre-Swinging London pop.  Nick Nicely, well-versed in both electronica and psychedelia, utilized an embryonic form of scratching on his cult favorite "Hilly Fields (1892)."  The New Psychedelia could accommodate all of these disparate influences, as heard on the 64 eclectic tracks on Another Splash of Colour.

The New Psychedelia movement didn't last long; Neil Taylor's comprehensive liner notes essay describes a critical backlash to the release of the original A Splash of Colour compilation in 1981, with many critics at the time feeling the subgenre was all hype.  Yet as this box abundantly proves, the '60s-inspired tracks recorded by many of these bands today feel more timeless than much contemporary music of the same 1980-1985 period.  "New Psychedelia" didn't last long, but the psych flavor continued to reverberate via the music of Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and others.  Creation Records, early home to The Jesus and Mary Chain, indulged some psych-influenced bands too including label founder Alan McGee's own Biff Bang Pow! (heard here with "A Day Out with Jeremy Chester").  (Cherry Red anthologized Creation on a splendid 2015 box set, Artifact: The Dawn of Creation Records.)  Across the pond, the Paisley Underground scene (The Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, etc.) drew its own inspiration from many of the same sources as the British New Psychedelia.

Many eclectic names can be found on this set.  Robyn Hitchcock, whose career continues to thrive today, is heard on this set with his solo "It's a Mystic Trip," and his band The Soft Boys is also represented with "Only the Stones Remain."  Post-punk hero Julian Cope offers the raw 1984 single "Sunspots."  Elvis Costello might not have represented the neo-psych movement, but his band The Attractions (a.k.a. Steve Nieve, Bruce Thomas and Pete Thomas) got into the act with their own brand of '60s-influenced pop rock.  Their B-side "Slow Patience" is featured here.  Science fiction/fantasy author Michael Moorcock has often dabbled in music, collaborating with the likes of Hawkwind and Blue Oyster Cult.  His band The Deep Fix gets a slot here with "Brothel in Rosenstrasse."  Most of the songs on the box are originals, though Naz Nomad and The Nightmares' cover of The Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" is a highlight.  Though The Doctor with his band The Medics had a chart-topper in 1986 with a cover of Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky," that recording falls out of the timeframe of this set.  Instead, the Medics are featured with a demo of "Barbara Can't Dance."

Another Splash of Colour is housed in a compact clamshell box, handsomely designed by Andy Morten, with each disc packaged in its own mini-sleeve.  The original A Splash of Colour labels have been nicely adapted for each CD.  Simon Murphy has remastered each track.  Neil Taylor's sterling essay in the colorful, thick 40-page booklet is a definitive account of the New Psychedelia movement and its aftermath; all that's lacking in this splendid presentation is more detail about each of the artists as well as discographical annotation for each track.  This mind-expanding anthology is available now from RPM Records at the links below!

Various Artists, Another Splash of Colour: New Psychedelia in Britain 1980-1985 (RPM BX 530, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Dancing in My Mind - The High Tide
2. Just Like a Dream - Mood Six
3. Something's Happening Here - Miles Over Matter
4. It's a Mystic Trip - Robyn Hitchcock
5. Watching the World Go By - The Barracudas
6. 49 Cigars - Nick Nicely
7. I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape (Single Version) - The Times
8. Slow Patience - The Attractions
9. Keep Your Voice Down - The Earwigs
10. Night of the Jackal - Charlie Harper
11. The Long Weekend - The Marble Staircase
12. Work - Blue Orchids
13. Love Letters - The Silence
14. Gigolo Aunt - Knox
15. Further Thoughts - The Chicanes
16. I See Everything - The Vandells
17. Stomping All Over the World - Kimberley Rew
18. Don't Cry Your Tears - Delmontes
19. On the Thirteenth Day - The Monochrome Set
20. Connect - Future Daze
21. Only the Stones Remain - The Soft Boys
22. The Festival of Frosty Muggament - Firmament and the Elements
23. No Reflexes - The Von Trap Family

CD 2

1. Hilly Fields (1892) - Nick Nicely
2. Electric Blue - The High Tide
3. Pass Myself - The Third Eye
4. Park My Car - Miles Over Matter
5. No Time Tomorrow - Squire
6. Still Dreaming - The Marble Staircase
7. Inside Mind - The Barracudas
8. A Red Light for the Greens - Deep Freeze Mice
9. Strange - Paul Roland
10. Brothel in Rosenstrasse - Michael Moorcock's Deep Fix
11. Wivenhoe Bells II - Cleaners from Venus
12. 101 Dam-Nations - Scarlet Party
13. Waltz of the Fool - Le Mat
14. The Haze - The Dream Factory
15. Waving at the Aeroplanes - The Legendary Pink Dots
16. Fiction and Literature - Modern Art
17. And We Dance On - The Jetset
18. Forever - The Heartbeats
19. Hazy Darkness... - Purple Hearts
20. Raspberry Rainbow - Pink Umbrellas
21. The Dream Inspires (Live) - TV Personalities

CD 3

1. Flowers in the Sky - The Revolving Paint Dream
2. I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) - Naz Nomad and the Nightmares
3. Sunspots - Julian Cope
4. Magic - The Jasmine Minks
5. Nirvana - The Icicle Works
6. Do I Have to Be Here? - The Way Out
7. Reaching My Head - The Prisoners
8. In Your Eyes (Live) - Playn Jayn
9. Where Are You? - The Primevals
10. Strawberries Are Growing in My Garden (And It's Wintertime) - The Dentists
11. Barbara Can't Dance (Demo) - Doctor and the Medics
12. A Day Out with Jeremy Chester - Biff Bang Pow!
13. Plastic Flowers (Psycho Version) - Mood Six
14. Man's Laughter - Freight Train
15. You Know Everything - The Onlookers
16. Doctor Ben - Direct Hits
17. Two by Two - The Green Telescope
18. Wide Eyed and Electrick - Magic Mushroom Band
19. Endless River - The Brainiac Five
20. The 4 Marys Go Go Dance All Night at the Groovy Cellar - Captain Sensible